Today delegations from Afghanistan, India and the United States met at the Afghan Mission in New York City for their first-ever trilateral dialogue to exchange views on the situation in Afghanistan as well as a wide range of regional issues of mutual interest. The Afghan delegation was led by Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Jawed Ludin, with U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Marc Grossman and Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake, Jr. leading the U.S. delegation, and Joint Secretary (Pakistan/Afghanistan/Iran) Y. K. Sinha and Joint Secretary (Americas) Jawed Ashraf representing India.

This trilateral marks the further strengthening of Afghanistanâ€™s cooperation with two of its key friends and partners who are fully behind the vision of a secure, peaceful, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan living in peace, security, friendship and cooperation with its region and the wider world. These discussions also mark the beginning of a series of consultations among our three governments, who share common interests across South and Central Asia and who have pledged to work together on common challenges and opportunities including combating terrorism and violent extremism, reviewing cultural exchanges and increasing regional trade, investment and economic integration.Â All sides welcomed the frank and comprehensive nature of the discussions and agreed the dialogue helps advance their shared values, interests and goals.